1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to telephony and, more particularly, to user interfaces within telephony systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the public telephony system of today, calling parties provide the telephone numbers required to complete outgoing calls. For example, in conventional wireline telephony, a calling party receives a dial tone upon going off hook (e.g., upon lifting a telephone handset), and then dials a sequence of digits associated with a destination (e.g., a receiving party) of choice. Similarly, in conventional wireless, or mobile telephony, the calling party keys in a destination-specific sequence of digits prior to dialing a unique call-activation key (e.g., “send”).
As a result, telephony users must remember or record frequently called numbers, while retrieving other numbers, as needed, from paper-based, dial-up or on-line telephone directories. Although certain telephony features (e.g., in-phone memory, speed-dialing, voice-activated dialing, etc.) do aid this process, the burden of developing and maintaining telephone contact information can be objectionable, if not overwhelming, for many users. Moreover, the conventional telephony interface generally limits the user to placing and receiving calls, while doing little to enhance the user's access to other types of information and technology.
Consequently, a need exists for an improved user interface in public telephony.